CELEBRATE SW40TH WEEK WITH JNW

Jennifer Nichole Wells is back at it again and this week she is helping us continue our SW40th celebration with an exclusive that covers figures lines from Lego to the 1:18 scale featuring characters from across the saga .

An Exclusive Shoot from Jennifer Nicole Wells@jennifernicholewells

It’s amazing to consider that Star Wars has been around for 40 years. And wonderful to know that this franchise is stronger now than ever, with a new movie coming out each year. One thing that fascinates me about Star Wars is its huge diversity of species. With that, toy manufacturers make action figures and collectables galore of each of those characters, from the main protagonists and villains, to the far background characters that were maybe only seen once or twice in the films.

With franchise based figures, I love working with lesser known characters or bending the narrative of main characters.

Because of the generosity of a couple toy photographer friends, some new Star Wars pieces have recently come into my possession, and it was high time they got their moment in front of the camera. Exclu’s Star Wars theme finally got me shooting, and here are the initial results.

To create these, I photographed indoors, using my 16 inch table top studio, a few small lights, my aging Canon EOS Rebel T1i and 100mm macro lens, sand, textured transparency film (for the haziness in the Lego shots), a fog machine (in the 1:18 shots), and various other props.

First up, some Legos.

B-2 Super Battle Droids stand at attention. Always ready for their next orders, no matter the time of day or night.

Vader has a new throne. He imagines he’ll appear more menacing with the skull at the head. But even so, he never lets down his guard.

I’m pretty new to shooting Lego, so it’s been an interesting process discovering how to work with these figures within the Star Wars universe.

All of the figures in this set of 5 images face forward. Aside from the last image, this is the first time I’ve had these figures in front of the camera, and thus their faces, fairly expressionless and yet quite interesting, formed an important part of their beginning story lines.

Now onto 1:18 scale.

A Polis Massan Medic investigates some new technology. Is it safe? Should he bring it back to the lab with him?

A Geonosian Warrior makes his way through a daunting storm. His wings hang low, they’ll only bring resistance in this wind. He shields his eyes from the swirling sand. A small outpost fades further into the distance as he continues his journey.

Unexpectedly, young Anakin and K-2SO have found each other in this swirling abyss. Debris surrounds them in this strange place as the blue-green mist begins to settle.

These figures are focused on their own adventures, and hidden further by the surrounding fog. 1:18 scale is something I’ve become more adapt to shooting, and fog is by far my favorite symbol in photos. It creates mystery and a separation between figures, foreground and background, more than depth of field can do on its own. In these it’s daunting. The fog is a danger, and the figures should do their best to get out. The warrior treads ahead, but K-2SO and Anakin are still and if they’re waiting for someone or something to occur.

A huge thank you goes out to Jennifer for taking even more of her time to create more stand out content for our latest weekly theme. Be sure to head over to Jen’s Instagram portfolio @jennifernicholewells for more unique miniature creations and as ever leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts!

The Exclu Collective is the signature showcasing platform for the creative toy community. We are a team of 11 international creatives who are all, one way or another, embedded within the flourishing toy photography space where art meets popular culture on an expansive scale. We are uniquely positioned to connect the vast toy industry to those most engaged by way of exclusive photography shoots, figure reviews and previews, event news, exclusive interviews and community competitions